Galileo Teacher Training Program: bringing astronomy into the classroom
Website: www.galileoteachers.org
The International Year of Astronomy 2009 (IYA2009) provides an excellent opportunity to engage the formal education community in the excitement of astronomical discovery as a vehicle for improving the teaching of science in classrooms around the world. An incredibly rich store of useful astronomy resources is available for such an effort, much of it in digital form and freely available on the internet. However, experienced educators and outreach specialists identify a critical impediment: many teachers lack the training to understand these resources or use them effectively in their curricula.
To address this problem and to sustain the legacy of IYA2009, the IAU - in collaboration with the National Nodes and leaders in the field such as the Global Hands-On Universe project, the US National Optical Astronomy Observatory and the Astronomical Society of the Pacific - is embarking on a unique global effort to empower teachers by developing the Galileo Teacher Training Program (GTTP).
The GTTP goal is to create a worldwide network of certified "Galileo Ambassadors" by 2012. These Ambassadors will train "Galileo Master Teachers" in the effective use and transfer of astronomy education tools and resources into classroom science curricula. The Galileo Teachers will be equipped to train other teachers in these methodologies, leveraging the work begun during IYA2009 in classrooms everywhere. Through workshops, online training tools and basic education kits, the products and techniques developed by this programme can be adapted to reach locations with few resources of their own, as well as computer-connected areas that can take advantage of access to robotic optical and radio telescopes, webcams, astronomy exercises, cross-disciplinary resources, image processing and digital universes (web and desktop planetariums).
Deliverables
1) Global network of Galileo teachers, that will last beyond 2009.
2) A Web site were a selection of resources will be found, forum, links to national contacts points, agenda of events, on-line training material, etc.
3) A certification programme and suggested course of study designed to produce Galileo Ambassadors trained to use the suggested educational materials and resources, and to train other teachers in their use.
4) A suggestion of educational resources and tools, ranked by the educational community and through pilot training efforts, stored on the web site and, as possible, available in other forms, from which trainers can select to meet the certification requirements for creating Galileo Ambassadors.
5) Goal: 3,000 to 6,000 certified Galileo Ambassadors around the world by 2012.
GTTP session certificate
Select and teach at least one activity from each of the following categories to achieve GTTP certification and produce Galileo Ambassadors:
1) Galileo-related activity (Galileo's accomplishments, activity involving some of his observations, etc.).
2) Fundamental astronomy activity (constellations culturally and scientifically, moon phases, seasons, etc.).
3) Activity using adaptable tools or resources (robotic telescopes, GoogleSky, etc.)
4) IYA2009-related activities (Galileoscope, Dark Skies, etc.)
Galileo Ambassador Certificate
Teachers attending GTTP sessions need to register in the GTTP website in order to be enabled to receive a certificate. Promoters of GTTP sessions will approve the certification after the successful completion of the training.
UN Millenium Development Goals
Task force/Countries
Rosa Doran (GHOU): rosa.doran@gmail.com (chair) - GHOU / NUCLIO
Task Force
Carl Pennypacker (Global Hands-on Universe / Univ. of California at Berkeley crpennypacker@lbl.gov
Mary Kay Hemenway (University of Texas - USA), marykay@astro.as.utexas.edu
Nelma Silva (Centro de Astrofísica da Universidade do Porto) nelma@astro.up.pt
Pedro Russo (IAU/IYA): prusso@eso.org - IAU
Task Force - Countries
Task force: Organizations
Andy Macpherson - Space Connections - andy@learntpm.com
Denise Smith (Space Telescope Science Institute): dsmith@stsci.edu
Doug Isbell dougisbell@hotmail.comSimon J. Steel (Science Education Department Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics): sjsteel@cfa.harvard.edu
Sotira Trifourki (Association for Astronomy Education - UK) sotira.cosmosmedia@yahoo.com
Steve Pompea (NOAO): spompea@noao.edu
Robert Hill (NISO) rabhill@hotmail.com
Tom Mason - Armagh Planetarium - tom@armaghplanet.com
National Nodes: 142
Organisational Nodes: 37
Organisational Associates:33
National Websites: 104
Cornerstone Projects: 12
Special Task Groups: 11
Special Projects:12
Official Products:8
Media Partners:22
IYA2009 Patron
